Battery-contact.



J. H. GUGLER. BATTERY CONTACT. APPLIOATION FILED PEB. 21, 1908.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

anual.

afzw

" fluid, indicated by the character Y.'

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

JULIUS H- GUGLER, 0F MINNEAPOLIS, IiNNiSTA, AssIGNoE To BATTERY COMPANY;

To all whom it may concern: v y y Be it known that I, JULIUs H. GUGLER,a. citizen lof the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the countyof Hennepin and4 State of Minnesota, have'invented, certain4 new anduseful Improvements.inl Battery- Contacts; and I do hereby declare thefollowing` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable othersy in like characters indicate like partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan View, illustrating myinvention. Fig'. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on the .line.r2 ai olE Fig. l, some parts being broken away; and Fig'. 3 is a detailshowing the contact device on a larger scale than in the other views,but taken in section on thc same line as Fig. 2. l

This application discloses and claims a modiiication of the devicegenericallyclaimed in a companion application Serial Nuiriber 417,020,tiled by me of even date herewith; and, in this application, the numeral6 indicates what, toi-,the purposes oi" illustration,

is designated as the negative electrode ol the well known Bunsen type ofbattery, and the numeral 7 likewise indicates4 a porous earthen jar.This electrode 6, which 1s prei'ei'ably a carbon or graphite electrode,is, as shown,

provided with a flanged upper end that rests upon the upper edge oi thelar 7. As shown,

-the said electrode 6 is oi" hollow cylind-rical form, although it mighttake other lorms sov far my invention is concerned. Atonel side andatitsfuppcr end, the electrode is formed with a mercury containing well,

the lower end portion ol'. which is preferably contracted at 8 so thatit will contain but a small amount of mercury. ln this wellt is a bodyof mercury or other suitable conductingr 'lhc u er end ol the wcll 8 isclosed by a removalriie plug 9, preferably -ol inverted conical ACORPORATION.

' i'ispeci'icationyofiLetters'Patentii Patented Merch 2,

Appiicationm'ed February 21,1908. s'e'r'iaiNo 4i7,o21. i

andJv turned upside down.` In this donnee/tieni..

form having` a small axialA opening;through1 which the downwardlyextended end portion;v 10a of one of the battery leads 10 is extended@`into thev body of mercury Y. f; This,- plug vis preferably made of lwoodbenyulcanized rubber oi other non-corrosive' materialeirThe l leadpreferably quite; closely iitsithefaxialf.- I' perforation in the plug9, but mayfbefeasilyf -.1 removed fromrworking position orfplacedinf.working position. `The plug Qis so securelys 1 held in position, by.surface friction.orotl'ier-fi` wise, that it will not bexaccidentallyf.fdisf placedrevenif the electrode 6 befremove'd' r.:;

it is important to-note that' thelinteriorf'con-'f struetio'ns-oi". thewell 8 and of1-thiplu-g92lar suoliy that, when the e,lectrode-=is1thu`sylplac'e" in a horizontal position, all or\.themercury;` will run intotheA down-turned side portion of the well, and will not rise to theheight of the horizontally turned axial erfoiation of the plug 9, andwhen said e ec'trode iszturned upside down, the mercury will not rise onthe p ug to the height ofthe axial perforation thereof'. lai-ged upperportion of' the well and to the conical or tapered form of the plug.Such construction is important, because it prevents s )illing and.wasting the mercury whed the electrode is removed from. workin positionand laid ina horizontal or inverte position, l as will be frequentlydone in raetice.

The body of mercury Y orms" a better electrical conductor between thelead and electrode' than can possibi be obtained 4by 90 a soldered jointor by a inding bolt and screw; and, in l'aet, forms a much betterelectrical connection than can be obtained in any other Way. f r

Preferably, the interior lwalls of the well 8 95 `are electro-platedwith copperl or other metal, as indicated at 8b. This gives the bestpossible adhesion between the mercury and an electrode constructed ofcarbon, Y, graphite or similar material. The mercury used as a contactbetween the electrode and.

thel lead is'prel' `rablyeovered withoil or water Y to preventevaporation and oxidation.

A carbon cl( \i'.trodc having a Well containing' mercury in directcontact with the, car- 105 bon wall olE said'u/.l is impractical, exceptwhen there is an extremely small am' ere flow, approximately ol one amiere or ess, because there no adhesion etween the mercury andthe carbonand, hence, there is This is, of course, ldue to the en- 80 here to thecarbon.. 4stratel that copper 1s an extremely good material for,eleetrolating the Walls of the Well in the carbon eectrode, because itis a good electrical conductor. It is truethat cop erWill-ama1gamate,.to some extent, Wit .the mercury, but I have found inprac tice that such amalgam-ation does not produce injuriousdisintegration after being in' continuous use for a period of eighteenmonths. I am unable to say what chemical action occurs which preventsAall of the copper frombeing amalgamated with the mer cury, but testsconducted for the purpose of determinino' the amount of copperamalgamated with l the mercury show that the greatest amount ofdisintegration of the copper occurs the first few days after the mer`cury has been added; that this copper disintegration represents such asmall quantity that it does not injure the contact; and that after thefirst few days th disintegration of copper is sofslow that it may bedisregarded in practice. Other metals may be employed as theelectro-plating metal, but advisably copper would. be used in mostinstances.

What I clalm 1s:

1. A carbon battery electrode formed with a Well having a metalelectro-platedsurface and containing mercury, which mercury. andelectro-plated surface are adav ted to form a contact between a lead andsaid electrode,

2. .Acarhon buttery electrode formed in its upper extremity with a well,the Walls of which :1re electro-plated 'with copper, and containingmercury, which mercury and copper electro-plated Walls are/adapted toforni an electrical contact between a lead and said electrode.

In testimony whereof I. a'llix my signature in lpresence of twowitnesses.

JULIUS H. GUGLER. vitncsses 5H. W. Diem,

F. D. MERCHANT.

